Sunday, September 5, 2010

There is no greater satisfaction then completing a project you started and knowing you built the whole thing.
Introducing the most robust e-bike/e-scooter motor speed controller system available for the hobbyist market today.

Here is the ultimate do-it-yourself 3-phase brush-less DC motor speed controller you could ever sink your time and money into.

The idea behind this 9 month R&D project build was to design a simple but useful robust EV controller system that others would want to build and learn from.

I based my controller design on PIC16F87X series micro-controllers. The software I developed using a in-circuit programmer/in-circuit debugger.
This two controller system has one dedicated to motor control and the other a simple user interface and programming/diagnostic tool I called the "Dashboard".

The minimal system is designed to require just the motor controller. Any programming changes are done through the PC software interface.
With the optional "Dashboard" connected to the motor controller, programming changes can be done where ever you are.
While driving LCD Display will show battery voltage, discharge current, wattage, speed, throttle, RPM, ride-time and much more.
The "Dashboard" has a data-logging function that stores 4095 samples into a EEPROM chip. Logged data can be retrieved, saved and graphically display on the PC Interface software.
There is also a built-in hardware diagnostic screen that shows hall effect sensors, brake & reverse inputs and more for quick and easy hardware troubleshooting.

What was my design criteria?
1st of all it has to be easy to assemble so I did not use any surface mounted components. Anyone can put this together.
2nd must be made from off-the-shelf parts. All components are commonly available at Mouser or Digi-Key.
3rd have you learn more about this technology. If you build it then you can fix it right! All you problems solved in one project.
4th make it easy to modify for other battery and motor technologies.

In the Owner's Manual the schematic, parts list, component placement, printed circuit board layout are included. The end user can program the controller features through a simple software interface which connected to a serial or USB port.

This controller was developed and is intended to be an OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE project you can build at home.